Prologue

Doctor Dana Langston practically dragged her tired body to the coffee machine at the end of the insipid hospital hallway. Keeping her eyes open after 72 hour-long shift had become a herculean task in itself, so a coffee was long overdue. She hissed at the overly-bright lights that illuminated the corridor, finding them abrasive enough to bring on one of her migraines. The extreme January cold didn't help to make her feel better, either – it crept under her clothes, spreading across her skin like the lacy tide on a frigid winter beach.

There was a blizzard raging outside, one so strong that the familiar sight of New York's dirty streets had been almost erased – actually, it was more like barely anything could be seen beyond the transparent double doors that were a few feet away from the coffee dispenser! Part of her wished to be snuggled under the warm covers of her bed, reading a book and having some hot cocoa, and thankfully enough, it wouldn't be long until that became a reality. She glanced at her battered wristwatch – a graduation gift from her late grandmother – and she clicked her tongue. It read 3:00 am, only half an hour left before she could go home...

Well, she'd probably have to wait until the blizzard had eased up before attempting to drive back to her apartment. No one in their right mind would dare to venture into the street on such a bleak night!

The smell of substandard coffee soon loitered inside the ward, and after tucking her change inside her pocket, Dana finally plopped herself down on one of the homogeneous plastic chairs that were lined against the dull beige walls. She focused her tired eyes on the flickering screen of the old TV set hanging from the ceiling; the commercials were on – they were short, attention grabbing and required no intellectual effort to be understood. If she was lucky, she'd be able to spend the last half hour of her shift sitting there, without needing to move. All her patients were stable and asleep, and there had been no emergency calls for a while now. Dana could already feel the pain of one of her tension headaches radiating around her entire head...

God, she really needed a rest.

She allowed herself to close her eyes and lean her head against the wall behind her while she waited for the Tylenol she had taken a few minutes ago, to make effect. Yes... some peace and quiet and a few minutes with her eyes closed were exactly what she needed.

Dana had almost dozed off when she heard a faint rapping noise coming from nearby. The blows were paused and seemed to be progressively losing strength, and it took a second for her exhausted mind to even register that the noise was coming from the glass doors in front of her. She lazily stretched in her chair and opened her eyes...

The sight she came across with made the very much needed adrenaline course through her overworked body.

Just outside the doors, there was a blonde woman lying on the cold, hard ground. Judging by the intense shaking of her frail body, her blue lips and the lack of colour in her face, Dana was certain that the woman was hypothermic – which was not surprising considering she had ventured into the blizzard wearing only a robe, oversized flannel pyjamas, slippers and a robe. She did also look malnourished; Dana was simply horrified by how easy it was to distinguish the protruding bones that hid underneath the clothes she was wearing.

Immediately, the doctor sprung out of her chair and ran to the doors. She easily dragged the semi-conscious woman inside the hospital before swiftly peeling her own cardigan off her body to wrap the woman with it.

"Hannah!" Dana hollered, "Hannah, get your ass over here immediately!"

A petite, brown-haired nurse rushed into the ward only moments later, her hands still inside latex gloves. She gasped in horror when she spotted the poor woman in Doctor Langston's arms. "W-wha- what happened? Did she just get here?!"

"Yes, she did! She's hypothermic! Go get all the blankets you can lay your hands on! Then bring a stretcher and doctor Jacobs," Dana instructed as she looked for a pulse. She found it just as Hannah left to complete the tasks that had been bestowed upon her. It was weak and paused, but it was still there. She was still there...

Diligently, Dana began the arduous process of attempting to save her patient's life. The first step was getting her out of her wet clothes, so she momentarily removed her warm cardigan from the woman's body and began removing her nightwear. Once the robe was off, her shoes and socks followed, but the moment she removed her pyjama pants, Dr Langston felt her soul dropping to her feet. There, imprinted on the woman´s pale skin, was a trail of bruises, abrasions and lacerations. They were everywhere! There was barely a portion of skin left untouched, not to mention the number of scars that could be easily seen! They climbed up her legs and torso, and the more clothes Dr Langston removed, the more injuries she found.

"Holy shit..." Dana muttered to herself, carefully covering her patient with her cardigan. "Who did this to you?"

The question had been more rhetorical than anything else – she certainly wasn't expecting a reply from a woman that had been out during a blizzard – hence her surprise at getting an answer. She couldn't quite understand what was said by the woman lying on her lap, but the fact that she was attempting to speak were good news. Dana cradled the frail woman in her arms, trying to use her own body heat to warm her up.

"Who are you, miss? Do you know where you are?" Dr Langston asked the woman, gently shaking her. She didn't get a coherent answer at first – it was anguishing to see her struggling to speak but mot managing it.

"B...Babcock," the woman eventually choked out, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I... C.C. Babcock."

"Your name is C.C. Babcock?" the doctor queried again just as Hannah re-entered de ward, bringing lots of fluffy blankets and Dr Jacobs with her.

"Y-yes... I was k-kidnapped... 23rd of May..." C.C. whispered, closing her eyes again. She was exhausted and very much in pain, but at least she had reached safety…

She was finally safe…

Meanwhile, Dana's head was reeling. Had she just said 23rd of May?! That was a little over eight months ago! Good Lord… things were a lot worse than she had originally expected! They had to act fast – this woman's life was in their hands.

With Hannah's help, Dr Langston managed to slip a new pair of pyjamas on Miss Babcock's body and carefully lifted her on the stretcher and they covered her with the numerous blankets that Hannah had brought.

"Miss Babcock, please, open your eyes," Dana pleaded as she and Dr Jacobs began pushing the stretcher down the corridor. "You have to stay awake!"

But C.C. simply didn't listen.

She couldn't…

She was too injured to do anything else but lie there as she repeated the same words over and over again, "Call Niles... I... wanna... Niles..."

"Who is this person? Miss Babcock? Speak to me!" Dana ordered.

"Niles... Sheffield butler... I... need him...call Niles... I need Niles."

As she said those words, C.C. welcomed the darkness that was slowly consuming her. Her body was shutting down, she knew it, but at least she'd escaped from her very own hell. She was safe.

She could finally rest now.

Curiously enough – or perhaps, not curiously at all – Niles was the last thing in her mind's eye before losing the battle to remain conscious and falling into a deep, dark nothingness.

"C.C.!"

Niles's scream echoed inside his room as he jolted upright on his bed. His chest was heaving and he could feel droplets of cold sweat making their way down his back. It took him a few seconds for the last remnants of his dream to fade away, giving way for reality to sink in. Not that he preferred reality, for that matter…

Nowadays reality was even worse than his nightmares, which were common occurrences since C.C.'s disappearance eight months ago. It was always the same nightmare, and not even waking up was enough to find refuge from the anguish and the guilt. The latter was a weight tied to his heart, and every day that went past without C.C., resulted in his burden becoming even heavier.

He would have never believed that there would come a day when he'd blame himself for the disappearance of the love of his life…

The last time he had Miss Babcock was right after he'd woken up in a hospital bed after his heart attack. He remembered pranking her the moment she entered his room, and it hadn't been long before she flounced out of it (after having smacked him with the bouquet of flowers she had bought for him, of course).

Her indignation had been soothing (and deliciously entertaining) to him, but his gloating hadn't lasted for long – as a matter of fact, smugness had been replaced by worry when C.C. Babcock vanished from the face of this Earth!

No one had known what had happened to her nor where she was, and as days bled into weeks and then months, Niles could only hope for a miracle. Every day he prayed to see her standing at the other side of the door, wearing one of her haughty smiles and looking as radiant as the sun. He prayed to hear her sultry laugh and to smell her sweet Chanel No. 5. He prayed for a chance to be able to hold her close one more time.

Guilt was eating him up from the inside out, just like a raging fire would engulf a piece of dry wood. It scorched the little hope that his heart was desperately trying to hold on to. He had cried over her so many times, he had wanted to scream and kick and scratch until she reappeared... but she hadn't.

Niles glanced at the small photograph of her that lay on his bedside table – she looked so beautiful… with her smiling face as the gentle rays of the sun bounced from her golden locks. He'd sell his soul for the possibility of seeing her again…

The possibility of rescuing here…

Suddenly, a phone rang.

He was startled by the sudden noise in the otherwise silent room. He considered not answering – he was certainly not in the mood to talk to anyone – but his sense of duty ended up winning for the day. So he reached out and took hold of the phone. Who on Earth was calling at this time of the night?!

"Sheffield residence?" he rasped.

"Yes, hello, my name is Doctor Dana Langston, from Lennox Hill hospital. Am I speaking with Niles Brightmore?"

Niles's heart skipped a beat. "Yes, this is him speaking."

"Excellent. You are listed as C.C. Babcock's emergency contact, and we need you to come down immediately."

Had Niles been standing up, he would have collapsed onto the ground. He could feel the bottom of his stomach dropping and cold sweat running down his back. "Did you just say C.C. Babcock? She is there?! W-what happened to her?"

There was a silence at the other side of the line for some seconds. It was almost as if Dr Langston was gearing herself up for what she had to say…

God… please… let her be alright!

"Yes, she's been admitted here. She arrived barely two hours ago, by foot and severely hypothermic. We don't really know what happened to her, but I must insist on you coming here before we discuss her medical condition. The good news is that she's alive."

Niles dropped the phone to the floor, pearly-shaped tears gliding down his wrinkled face. His head was swimming, and a thousand and one questions presented themselves in his mind.

She was alive.

Alive, but clearly unwell, a little voice in the back of his mind added, but right then he couldn't bring himself to listen to it.

She needed him, and for now that was the only thing that mattered.

AN: Well, hello there! I have begun another story :) It's slightly darker than what I usually write, but I promise it will be worth your time! Anyway, this story is dedicated to two of my dearest friends: Hannah and Dana.

That being said, I must say goodbye until the next chapter!

I'd truly appreciate reviews!

L.